Final Project

Epilogue

Tori walked into her favorite coffee place in the area she lived, called Think, Thought, Did Coffee (or Double-TDC as many of the locals called it), and sat down at her favorite table near the window.

"The usual, Tori?" an older man, the barista, yelled from behind the counter.

She smiled over at the man, Allen, as she worked on getting her brown denim jacket off, along with her black and grey fashion scarf, "You know it!"

"Coming right up!"

Reaching into her shoulder bag, Tori pulled out her laptop and gently set it on the table in front of her. She was so excited for this moment that she was sure something bad was bound to happen. She couldn't risk being too rough with her laptop in fear that her webcam would go bonkers.

Opening up the video tab, she very eagerly pressed the call button next to the name she's being dying to talk to for quite some time.

And she couldn't stop the ridiculously large smile that pulled at her lips when she saw the face of one of her greatest friends.

"Tori-chan!"

"Shiori! How have you been?"

"Girl, it's been pretty much the same with me! Let's talk about you! How are you liking New York? How long has it been since you've been there now? How's college going? Are you making a lot of new friends? Where—."

"Whoa!" Tori held up her hand to stop Shiori from continuing to ramble. Both girls giggled for a moment, and Tori shook her head, "I can only answer one question at a time."

"Well, if you would have given me decent answers in your e-mails, I wouldn't have to ask so many at once!" Shiori pointed out. Tori watched as Shiori picked up her laptop and carried it over to her bed. Laying down on her stomach, Shiori rested her chin on her fists as her feet swayed in the air.

Tori nodded her head to the side in agreement, "Yeah, but I wanted to make sure we had a lot to talk about when we finally set up this face-to-fact chat." Tori's coffee was sat down on the table, so she gave a quick thank you to the waiter.

"You better start talking then!" Shiori warned in a mock-threatening tone, "You've kept me in the dark way to long."

Taking a short sip of her coffee, Tori licked her lips, "Okay…well, I've been in New York for about five months now. I came here in June just to get settled in, get a feel of a brand new place before I started school."

Shiori nodded vigorously, "Fair enough. Bet you didn't have an awesome tour guide like you did when you were in Japan, ne?" She winked.

Chuckling, Tori shook her head, "Definitely not. People are very competitive here. It seems like a lot of them have the "I'm not here to make friends, but to succeed" motto. But whatever, 'cause there are a few nice ones."

"So you at least have a few people to talk to?" Shiori questioned, obviously concerned about her.

Tori took another sip of her coffee, "Yeah. I'm pretty close with this girl named Lana and her brother, Jake."

"Is he cute?" was Shiori's first question, making them both laugh.

"He is, but he wouldn't be interested in people like us, if you know what I mean," Tori motioned to her body and Shiori got it right away.

"Awesome…" Shiori considered asking Tori about Beck now, but was kind of frightened since Tori had yet to mention him. She decided to try to go around the subject first, "And you still talk to your old friends sometimes? How's Kitty-Cat?"

"She's good!" Tori brightened as she reached for her phone. She scrolled through a few pictures until she found the one she wanted, turning the screen toward her computer screen, "Cat met up with this girl named Sam and they started their own baby-sitting business or something…"

Shiori looked hard at the picture of the red-head and blonde with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, "Is that the Sam from iCarly?"

Tori put her phone down, "Oh, you knew about that show?"

"Definitely! I remember the time they came to Japan to win some sort of comedy award…they've been a hit ever since. Until Carly left somewhere…"

"Italy, I think," Tori finished.

"Right. And…what about everyone else?"

"Robbie actually got to be in a few movies…just as a minor, really. But he started his own web series. Honestly, I never watched it, but I guess he's trying to save up a lot of money so he can buy Cat a wedding ring."

Shiori looked intrigued, "He told you that?"

Tori smirked, "Nah, just an assumption."

Rolling her eyes, Shiori mumbled a "bakana…" before twisting herself around to sit with her legs crossed on her bed, "Go on."

"Um…well, Cat told me that Jade went back to England. Guess she had some self-discovery to do there. Not sure what else she's up to there. Andre's still in Florida making a record."

"Uh-huh…" Shiori urged on, really hoping that Tori would just get to the one person that she truly wanted to hear about.

And Tori could sense this. So, taking another slow sip from her coffee, she then lowered the coffee, her eyes, and her voice, "I haven't talked to Beck in five months."

"Nani?!" Shiori yelled loudly, "Iie, dame desu!"

Tori stared wide-eyed at how obviously upset Shiori was. She didn't even seem to register that she was yelling at her in Japanese.

But instead of translating herself, Shiori simply got close to the screen, her eyes narrowed and strict, "Explain. Now."

Pushing her hair timidly behind her ear, Tori was having a hard time looking into Shiori's eyes, "Well…you see, he didn't get accepted into my college, so…I left and he stayed."

Shiori shook her head, "No excuse, Tori-chan! That does not explain why you haven't at least talked to him! You guys were so close here…I could see the love you two had for each other! It was so real!"

Despite herself, Tori felt a blush heating up her face. It sounded somewhat corny the way she was describing it, though Tori couldn't help but realize how true it all was, "I know, I know…I guess it was just the way I left. He still wanted to come, but I didn't want him to waste his career here, not knowing if he would find anything or not. So I left him a note saying not to follow me and I just…left."

"And he hasn't tried to contact you?" Shiori asked incredulously.

Tori shook her head, "Not that I'm aware."

"And you haven't tried to contact him?"

Tori licked her lips again before biting down gently on the right corner of her bottom lip. This was still a really sensitive subject for her…she could hardly talk about this inside of her own head. When Lana and Jake asked if she had a boyfriend the first time, she felt like it was the hardest question she'd ever been asked. Did she? Didn't she? And it was even worse when she said, "I'm not quite sure…" because this opened up a box of a million different questions. Ones she didn't know how to answer. So she told them she'd talk about it another time.

She never did.

"Tori-chan…?"

Sighing, Tori shook her head, "No…"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm too scared he won't answer! I'm too scared he hates me now and…if he really wanted to talk to me, he would have called me by now," Tori rubbed her forehead roughly. She didn't want to start crying in the middle of the coffee house, and she found, over the past five months, that rubbing her forehead was a magical tear stopper. Weird, but there it was. Everyone had something to stop themselves from crying, right?

"You want to know something?" Shiori asked quietly, slowly, a small twinkle in her eyes.

"What?" Tori said dully.

"The reason he hasn't called you yet is the same as everything you just told me."

Tori did a quick double take at her computer screen, feeling her heart soar when she saw the smile and the knowledge in Shiori's eyes. Could that be true? Could it be that simple?

Of course…nothing about this situation could be labeled as simple…

Yet Shiori's reasoning was so…simple! And believable. They always say that you're not alone in your fears.

"You really think so…?" Tori asked, almost as a whisper.

Shiori continued to smile as she shifted her body on her bed again, this time straightening her legs out and leaning back on her elbows, "Tori-chan, if you guys are at all the same as you were when you were here half a year ago…then I know so. You guys faced a lot when you were here. You had to come to the realization that you were meant for each other, even when you were both with someone else. You had to see that all those years you guys were friends were merely minutes building up to the place you were meant to be. You guys had …what's the English word for it…appetence."

Tori blinked a few times, "Appa-wha?"

Shiori giggled, "Ah, the benefits of learning a language that's not your first. You learn words a lot of people in the language don't know," she still took a long pause, and Tori thought she was going to have to look the word up, but then Shiori said: "A natural bond. You guys had an understanding about each other that's rare."

This made her think back to the Platinum Music Awards. The awards that basically started everything. Beck was the only one that saw through her performance.

"How'd you know?" she asked him.

"Because you're Tori."

And that was all that needed to be said.

"Thanks for saying all that, Shiori…" Tori gratefully said, "I wish you could be here right now so I can hug you…"

Shiori giggled, "Start saving all your hugs for Beck, Tori-chan! Now I want you to go call him right now and tell me all about it later."

"Now?!" Tori stressed, suddenly becoming very nervous, "But I'm still talking to you and—."

Shiori got close the screen and blew her a kiss, "Ja ne, ai-tori!"

But before Tori could stop her, Shiori ended the chat and Tori was left staring at her wallpaper. Which was the picture Beck took of the two of them during one of their first outings in Japan. She tried to smile, but her lips only ended up turning downward. Oh, how she missed him…every day without him was torture and she was beginning to wish they were both selfish and he ended up coming to New York with her.

The coffee shop always kept the TV on, though Tori usually blocked it out since most visits were to get homework done. But something she heard really caught her attention. A voice, singing, was one all too familiar to her, and when she finally turned around slowly in her chair, she saw a music video.

It was Andre. Scrolling text at the bottom kept showing the same words: "Brand new! "Forever" by Andre Harris! Download it now at the Pear Store!"

"Stop the world…take a picture. Take a minute…'cause I missed ya…"

Tori's mouth was hanging open as she watched Andre's very first music video. She jumped up from her seat, wanting to scream to everyone there that she knew that guy! But this was New York, and she knew if she did that, that someone would just tell her that they knew Santa Clause.

"Till this day…Yeah, I can't believe, you're right in front of my face…"

"You did it, Andre…" Tori said lowly to herself with a pure smile.

And this finally gave her motivation to make her dream come true as well. She packed up her laptop, put on her jacket and scarf, grabbed her lukewarm coffee, and headed out into the cool New York October air.

She couldn't wait to get back to her place to call Beck. She wished she could do it here, literally now, but she needed the privacy of her bedroom for this call…she wasn't sure how emotional it would get.

She waited impatiently to cross the six streets it took her to get from Double-TDC to her dorm, and she really wished New York would just freeze until she got to where she needed to be.

"Beck…I'm so sorry…" she started talking aloud as she walked briskly around slow people, trying to come up with something good to say, "It was wrong of me to leave like that…but you never called and—no, don't bring that up."

About time Tori got near campus, she was pretty much out of breath, and she still had three flights of stairs to climb, "I just did what I thought was best, but I know I should have talked to you more about it…"

Tori gulped down a huge portion of her coffee, her throat desperate for any kind of liquid. She knew her dorm was right around the corner and across the street from one of the campus's many theaters, "I never wanted to hurt you…you know I love you too much for—."

Tori never got a chance to finish her sentence. She had made it across the street and was ready to bolt it up the front steps, but her feet slowed and her breathing hitched as she watched a man rise from the steps.

It was apparent he had been sitting there for some time, and that she was the reason he finally had a reason to stand. She blinked a few times unbelievably. This man…with dark hair that cascaded past his shoulders and a mustache right above his lip and eyes that were so dark and penetrating, it was…

"…Beck…?" she questioned delicately, scared that she could be wrong. After all, this guy that stood in front of her looked a lot like her Beck, but he looked so…grown, if that was at all the right word.

But when he flashed that smile at her and dug his hands into his jacket pockets, she knew without a doubt.

"Hey, Tori."

Tori let out a strong breath that may have been the beginning of a sob before she dropped her bag and coffee and ran to him. She flung her arms around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist, and when she felt his own arms encircle her excited form, she didn't think she would ever laugh as loud again.

"I'm happy to see you, too," he said in a joking manner, though she could still hear the seriousness in his tone as his voice vibrated in her ear.

She hid her face in his long, fluffy hair for a long moment, feeling her heart beat uncontrollably fast. When she pulled back, she cupped his face in both her hands as she stared into his eyes, "You look so different…"

"And you look exactly the same," he replied, his grasp on her never letting up.

Tori smiled softly at his comment, "I was just running inside. I was getting ready to call you! Beck…what are you doing here?"

He only continued to stare at her for a few moments, his eyes searching her eyes, her face, her soul, "I did what you wanted me to do."

"Wh-what…?" She finally unwrapped her legs from around his waist, and it felt surreal to feel her feet on the ground. Her mind was whirling and it almost felt like she was in a dream.

Beck made sure to keep her close, however, as his arms never left her, "You said you wanted me to achieve my goals, right? Well…"

When he merely trailed off, the mischievous look in his eyes made her smile, "Well…?"

"I saw a role casting for a new show that's coming out soon. So I applied and…" he trailed off again, and Tori swore she was about to have a heart attack from her lack of patience, "I got the lead role."

"Oh my God!" Tori screamed, pulling him in for another death-tightening hug, "That's so awesome!" Hearing him laugh in her hear, and feeling his body move with hers was just as awesome.

"And you want to hear something better?" he asked, smirking at her shocked face when she pulled back again.

"What can be better than that?!"

"That it takes place in New York…" he reached up a gentle finger and pushed strands of her hair away from her face, "And it's being filmed here, too."

Tori's face scrunched up as she felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She covered her mouth to try to prevent any unsightly sobbing, "Oh my God, Beck…" she said again, still wondering if this was all a dream, "That's perfect…"

Blinking slowly, Beck took her hand into his and led it away from her mouth. He brought it instead to his own, pressing his lips to the back of her hand, and Tori was sure she never witnessed something so simple turn into something so sensual.

She watched in amazement as his eyes closed for a blissful few seconds before they opened to catch her own, "I followed you."

They both smiled and she propped herself up on her tiptoes as she tilted her head to bring her lips closer to his, "Finally."

And then they kissed, for the first time in forever. And she knew he forgave her for leaving, and she knew the reason he didn't call was because he was busy proving that this could be done.

And it was like the past five months were nothing more than some scratches on a CD. They were back in busy Japan, finally discovering where they were finally meant to be. Come what may, they knew they had each other.

Their project was complete.

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La Fin

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And that, my friends is truly the end. I'll say some disclaimers. The "Forever" song and video belongs to Leon Thomas III. "Sam and Cat" and "iCarly" belong to Dan, as does the wonderful series I just wrote a long-ass fanfiction for. And though I didn't mention it by name, the show Beck got picked for was "Twisted" and no, I don't own that, either. And if you were wondering what Shiori said to Tori before she hung up, "ai" means love and "tori" means bird in Japanese, so I just put the two word together. Cute, right? Right...

So I wanted to thank you all once again...since this is literally the last time I'll get to say it. And because all of you were so mature in handling that last chapter, I decided to give you this epilogue, because why not? To me, this wasn't a happy ending; this was more like a happy beginning for them. So yay for Bori! I'm still kind of uncertain whether or not I want to make that Tandre spinoff. I want to focus on other stories I've created and try to finish those first, so who knows.

On my Word document, it shows me that this story turned out to be 296 pages with 132,099 words. I feel so proud. I never wrote such a long story before. And (yes, I'm gonna say it again) it's all because of your wonderful reviews! I'm so glad so many people enjoyed it and see this story as THEE Bori story, I guess you could say. Here's hoping something fun happens in that Victorious movie coming out (haha, yah right).

I really don't know what else to say without repeating what I've already said and crying.

It's been a pleasure writing for all of you. I know I will miss writing this story. A lot. It's been a huge part of me for over two years.

Thank you.

~Enula